The Final Day

The final day of our Portland reunion started with a headache and the smell of last nights bonfire lingering.
The very tipsy group were actually quite drunk, and the thought of returning home to London only made us all feel worse. As we made our way out of the huts for our final breakfast, the same feeling was felt all around. 

This hangover needed a cure, and some fruit and juice was not going to be the answer. 

Jacks family has spent years building up a collection of wet suits, so there was no excuse for us to all head down to the sea for a morning dip and shake off the night before. 

Once we were all back into our swimwear, we made out way down to the 'jump spot' as jack calls it.  

With us all ready to go, we made out way to the edge and took a quick glance down. Its higher than it appears, and the water didn't look as inviting as the say before, but this was it. One by one we took the plunge into the morning water.  

The water was freezing! It made you not only wake up, but shook any remains of a hangover away. Over and over we were jumping into the sea, whilst the local walkers stopped to give us a cheer each time someone took the plunge. 

Feeling awake, we finished out final dip in the ocean and headed for a walk along the shoreline. With the light sea breeze drying us off, jack told us more about Portland than we knew. The area was used for quarrying until the early 20th century for Portland stone, which has been used to build St Paul's Cathedral and a range of other London landmarks such as Somerset house and Buckingham Palace.

The beach huts were originally for the fisherman. With each cluster of huts came a crane, which lowered the fisherman's boats down to the sea, and some of them still work today. In one of Jacks huts was a pinboard, with pictures of his family visiting Portland over the years. It was fascinating to see his elders do exactly what we were doing, showing that everyone is part of the history, and will pass this lifestyle on for many more generations to come!

At the southern tip of the island stands Portland Bill Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it warns the coastal traffic of the shoreline and also the sandbank that sits just off the coast.

  

With only a few house and a little pub to cater for the thirsty walkers, you get a real sense of being isolated from the rest of the country. Our day to day lives of meetings, social drinks and mobile phones were replaced with swimming, bonfires and good ol' fashioned gossiping without the use of our thumbs. 

Our judging panel for the Limbo Contest.

A few rounds of limbo later, and the time had come for a few of us to get ready to leave Portland. Some of the group were staying down an extra night, but myself and a few others had to head back to London. 

It felt like we had only just arrived, and were packing to leave right away. We had all relaxed into the Portland way of life once again, only to find that we were about to be hit with the London Dash once again. Luckily, the whole group would be coming off the island with us for a quick bite to eat.
Coming off the island can only be described as feeling like we were re-entering the real world. Radio 1 would place again on the radio, the roads started to fill with traffic, and our mobiles went into a hyperactive buzz with messages and notifications coming through. It was time to say goodbye to the simple life!
One of the final traditions we always kept when visiting the island, and I expect is many of your sea-side traditions too, is to head to the port in weymouth and have some Great British fish and chips by the sea.

Perfect after a weekend of failed BBQ's and diving in the sea as a breakfast alternative!

With our bellies big enough to challenge the largest of Captains, and our cars all loaded, we said our goodbyes to everyone. Those 16 hellos became 16 'see you later's', promising each other we would see each other again soon and make sure Portland doesn't go too long without a big reunion again. Engines started, Sat-Nav programmed, it was time to head back to civilization.

Three days with some of your oldest and closest friends is never enough, is it?

Timeless Portland

The best thing about Portland is the absence of alarm clocks.
Instead of an irritating buzzing sound going off in my ear, the sunshine and fresh air coming through the windows of the beach hut greeted us and reminded everyone that there was no early morning London commute to deal with.

After climbing out of bed feeling rather refreshed, I gathered my bearings, chucked on some shorts and a vest, and joined the other early morning risers outside for breakfast. No-one had looked at the time, there was no need to when you have a beach hut, the sea, and nowhere urgent to be. The locals go by their day to day business with no urgency, and this is how our day would be spent.

With the recent Ashes taking place, some of the group went for a walk to try and grab a tiny bit of signal and check the scores. For those who stayed back, we decided to create our own Portland Ashes contest with a cricket bat and ball, a chair as a stump, and two teams.

Vest from River Island (similar here), Shorts from American Apparel.

My team narrowly lost, just like the fate of the cricket ball in a nearby hedge.

When the rest of the group had come back with the scores (England were leading), we changed into our swimwear, grabbed the portable speakers, and headed to the beach. Jack has been coming to Portland since he was a small child, and knows the island off the back of his hand. Over the years he has shown us the different beaches and caves the island has to offer, as well as the perfect suntraps for tanning.
We wandered along the cliff-edge saying hello to the locals and morning-walkers, before dropping down to the pebble beach.

Not without noticing the large fossil that had found its place in the rock on our route down.

Met with the sound of waves crashing and echos from the caves around us, we got the drinks out and chose our spots for a day of sun worshiping. This was the perfect spot to watch the boats slowly sail by, letting us wonder where they were heading, and enjoying each others company.

Swimwear from Bershka.

Some of the guys decided to boost their testosterone and throw a few rocks into the sea, whilst the rest of us laid back and enjoyed the sunshine, before jumping into the sea to cool down!

The sea was a perfect temperature to swim in. You would imagine the English Channel to be cold and uninviting, but once you were in you didn't want to get out. With the water clear enough to see what wildlife was below us, we swam out to the rocks and found ledges to stand on.

Some of the group were more daring than others, swimming out far to take in the shoreline, whilst the rest stayed back and explored the nearby caves. We watched the sun move from east to west along the skyline, diving in and out of the sea exploring the hidden places Portland had to offer.

Once we returned from our aquatic adventure, we sunbathed until we were dry, then grabbed our belongings and headed back up to the beach huts.
Sun-kissed, refreshed and a little hungry, we grabbed the disposable BBQ's and prepped the food for that evenings dinner. We had brought every piece of BBQ food you can imagine with us for the feast. Burgers, sausages, kebabs, chicken, steaks, and all the sides to feed an army. This was the perfect dinner for the hungry swimmers.

However, we didn't get a chance to taste the majority of the food. We quickly found out that Tesco disposable BBQ's are not the greatest, with all 6 of them not heating up properly. Moving them to less-windy spots didn't ignite them either. We persevered with the remaining Asda BBQ's for a couple of burgers and sausages, but in the end it was a quick dash to the local Chinese that saved our stomachs.

As the evening cooled down and the sun began to set, we made our way back down to the beach for a bonfire night. This is part of the traditions we have kept going over the years, and were sure to keep it alive this time. We would go get some wood from a local yard, and build a fire on the cliff edge, ready for the evening.

Walking down to the bonfire, it felt like we had transported ourselves back to 2007 again. Time had frozen on Portland and the island remained the same, but our lives had moved forwards. It is a great feeling to know that everyone around you are still as close as we were back then.

The opposite feeling was knowing that your flip flops could fall off at any moment when you are sat on the cliff edge, with the sea lashing against the rocks below you.

With a full moon above us and the stars gazing away, the fire was lit and everyone gathered around for warmth. Keeping with tradition, Tim started the singalong for everyone to join in with. Ranging from old school classics to this years latest songs, it was perfect for everyone to showcased their improved singing skills over the years, or lack of! 

 

As the night went on into the early hours the sing-song quietened, everyone grabbed their blankets and found spots to stargaze. Being away from the big smokey city of London meant that the sky was crystal clear, letting us point out the different consolations and a few shooting stars dashing across the black sky.

Slowly, the fire died down, leaving just the embers and a group of very tipsy friend stargazing into the night sky. The perfect end to a great day.

Welcome To Portland

Last weekend, I packed up the car and darted out of London into the sun-drenched countryside, on my way to a little island for a big reunion with some friends.

Throughout our school and sixth-form years, the group of us spent the majority of our time together. We would be in the same classes, go to the same parties, and created memories that still have us kneeling over today.

Every summer, we had one tradition which we always stuck to. We would pack up the cars, meet at Jack's house, and drive down together to his beach huts for a Great British holiday. 

Over the years, we have all stayed in contact and seen each other when we can, especially with the group now dotted around England and soon to be Korea. However, our traditional holiday slipped away.
So, you can imagine my excitement when I got a message saying that a reunion was happening, and it would be back where we used to escape in the summer.

Welcome to Portland.

Portland is a small island just off the coast of Dorset, made entirely of limestone and perfect for a break away from everyday life.
The moment you arrive on the island, you lose phone signal and struggle to get it back. Perfect for a group of friends who were in desperate need of a catch-up. Terrible for loved-ones who want to keep in contact.

It was as remote as you can imagine, but with the added lifeline of a car if needed!

We would be staying in the beach huts on Portland Bill, the most southern part of the island. These huts are right on the sea front, with a car battery to give them electricity, and the sea acting as the showers. Each of the huts are filled with beach memorabilia that has been collected over the years, which only adds to the experience every time we visit.

Some of the group chose their VW camper over the beach huts.

After a Jay Z filled car journey from London, we arrived down the dirt track to 16 different hugs and screams as the group were brought together once again. Some accents had changed, others had brought their new partners, and the chatter revolved around everyone's lives whilst we sat out in the evening sunshine.

As the sun and heat died down with the evening and the wine and beer flowing, the conversations turned to reminiscing about our last holiday as a group. With a weekend full of relaxing in each others company, and making sure traditions were kept alive, we drank up and headed to our huts for some much earned sleep.

See you in the morning...